My Clarity
by falcokira
Summary: I thought he would be what I needed, a distraction from this miserable life I had... A savior from all the pain and suffering. But he just may be the one to corrupt me, to break me further... Is all of this for my sake? Or for his own sick amusement?
1. Normal

**So I wrote this for fun to try and get back into writing, then after reading it a few times I decided to post this. This story is going to take the evil clown route with a twist. It also includes mention of self harm, abuse, and possibly suicide in later chapters. It will flow alongside the manga. Sorry for lack of dialog.**

* * *

I had a feeling today wasn't going to be an ordinary day. It was nice and comfortably warm outside as I made my way to work in the 14th ward. People gave me strange looks as I walked down the street, but it wasn't something I wasn't used to. People always gave me weird looks… I wasn't exactly considered normal. My outfit defiantly wasn't helping anything. Seeing someone walk around, almost completely covered in head to toe in warm weather screamed unusual. Jeans and boots would be normal, but a long sleeved sweater in warm weather? If that didn't draw people's attention then the hat and medical face mask would.

The only visible part of my body was my eyes. I knew I was asking for trouble going out dressed like this every day, but what other choice did I have? I rather go out looking like a suspicious then having people take photos and call me a freak. Picking up the pace I tried to hurry along. I was only ten blocks away from my job.

"Excuse me." A large hand landed on my shoulder halting me. I let out a sigh as I turned and came face to face with a pair of police officers. Both of them had suspicious looks on their faces. The kind that said 'Just try to do something funny… I dare you,'. "Would you mind having a word with us?"

The tone in the officer's voice suggested that I had no choice in the matter. So far this has been a completely normal day for me.

* * *

I let out a silent prayer once I got to work. It took a good half hour to convince those officers that I wasn't a criminal. But having them interrogate me in the middle of the sidewalk didn't help matters. It was a good thing I made a habit of always leaving for work as early as possible. Life at home with my parents wasn't much better. But I could easily forget all of my other problems when I was working.

Per usual the front door was currently locked, so I made my way around to the back. I let myself in with my copy of the key. Locking the door behind me I smiled as I looked around the shop. _Kenta's Creations_ was a typical art supply store despite the name. It was a pretty decent size and carried the most common of materials. Fabric, supplies, tools, anything you could think of. Whatever it didn't have, we wouldn't hesitate to order. It was owned by an average middle aged woman and her daughter Akemi who, as usual was not here. The only other employees were me and a friend of Akemi's, who I try not to interact with at all.

"Kukiko-san, is that you?" Mrs. Kenta came out from the supply room carrying a box. She was of average build and height, with bright red hair and striking green eyes. "You're here early as usual, but later then your usual time."

"Good morning Mrs. Kenta-san. There was a slight issue on my way here but everything is ok. We may not open for another hour or so but that doesn't mean there isn't anything to do. " She set the box down on the counter before speaking to me again.

"How are things at home dear?" I flinched at the mention of home, which she caught onto immediately. "You'd tell me if something was wrong right? I know you must have to deal with a lot…"

"Don't worry Mrs. Kenta-san, I'm fine. Things are getting better." I hated lying through my teeth to her, but I really didn't want her to pry me for the truth. It was better if she didn't know.

She gave me a look like she didn't believe me, but luckily she didn't press any further. Instead she went back into the supply room and came out with another box.

"Kukiko can you give me a hand with these once your settled? Akemi was supposed to be here but she said she had a few things to take care of."

I nodded and hurried off to the work room. It was where we made all the displays and other little trinkets around the store. It was also my own personal work room at the shop, which meant it was locked whenever I stepped out. Other then Mrs. Kenta's office and the supply room, there wasn't another space like this. It contained many of the items and materials we sold at the store. There were multiple shelves and storage boxes filled to the brim with supplies. It was once a break room at one point, so there were large counters along with a sink and microwave already installed. In one corner there was a small fridge that was put in later. In the center of the room was a large table and where I usually worked.

After unlocking the door and shutting it behind me I quickly began to remove my hat, mask, and sweater, and dumping them on the work table. The building was air conditioned luckily; having to cover up so often was tiring. However because of my condition I didn't have much choice. Underneath the sweater was a thinner, long sleeved shirt. It was thin enough that I wouldn't be sweltering in it, yet not so thin that the bandages on my arms would show through. I hated having to do this everyday.

Staring in the mirror I gathered my appearance. My bandages were securely covering my bruises and cuts, my shirt covered everything up nicely. The makeup on my face hid the black eye I was sporting. Which was a miracle in itself because of my unusual skin. But I made it work, because it was necessary. I already gathered enough unwanted attention with my face alone... no one needs to see the rest. The only skin that was showing was my face, neck and hands. Perfect.

After a quick once over, I left the sanctuary that was my workshop. There was still time before the shop opened and it was time to get some of the new stuff on the shelves. I smiled as I began putting up new signs for prices and specials. It was somewhat early to start celebrating Halloween but it was one of the busiest days of the year. I loved how it brought out the creative side to people, and showed their true colors. The one day a year where it didn't matter how you looked.

Mrs. Kenta and I worked together making idle chit chat as we prepared for the day. It wasn't much but it's never too early right? It was 10 am when we opened, right on schedule. As per usual, Akemi arrived late with her friend almost an hour after the store opened. They both ignored me and gossiped while I worked until Mrs, Kenta came in and snapped at them. Akemi and her friend, Ami, both got to work but continued to gossip.

Throughout the day customers slowly started to filter in. Some of them wanting to get an early start on the holidays. Others here for their own personal projects. I handled the customers along with Mrs. Kenta while the others pretended to work. She handled the register while I helped customers with fabric. As usual, many of them were uncomfortable around me because of how I looked. I continued to smile and act cheerful while making sure none of my bandages could show. Soon Mrs. Kenta had to leave to take care of some delivery trucks outback. Ami took over the fabric counter while I handled the register. Things were going smoothly the first few hours.

"Hey freak, where are those displays?" a voice called out. The customer I was currently helping at the counter paused in their movements to look between Akemi and I nervously. I let out a small sigh and continued to smile and act like nothing was wrong.

"Here is your change Miss. Have a wonderful day." She nodded at me and left in a hurry. I had customers to worry about, not Akemi's teasing. "Next in line please."

"Don't ignore me! Those displays need to be up pronto!" She snapped. The rest of the customers looked curiously at the two of us. I bit my lip holding back a hot retort and turned around to face her.

"Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me. Here you can handle the customers right?"I walked away without awaiting an answer. Her face started to turn a nice shade of red from her anger before she composed herself. If there was one thing I knew about her is that she didn't like working.

Akemi Kenta and I didn't get along, at all. She only pretended to be nice, especially when her mother was around. But the second she left the room she turns on me calling me a freak just like everyone else. The textbook definition of manipulative. She's the one who suggested I stay in the back away from the customers. It seemed mean at the time but I didn't mind. I actually preferred it most of the time.

I knew at the time she would do something to get back at me later, but I didn't care. Whatever she thought of couldn't be as bad as what my parents do to me. I could feel her glaring daggers at my retreating back but I ignored it. While she and Ami handled the customers I went back to my workspace. I was in the back doing enjoying my time alone for the most part. Each day was spent making little trinkets, mostly seasonal and holiday inspired decorations. Even the occasional outfit or costume was made and put in our display area. Each display had several pamphlets listing the materials used and how to make the item. It was tedious work having to keep up with them but I found it fun. When I wasn't working on a project, I spent my time managing inventory.

With Halloween nearly two months away it was that time to get started. Currently I had some decorations, easy food ideas, and three costumes ready to go. The food was currently in the small fridge i had inside my workspace. Some of the pamphlets were ready to go but I would need at least twenty copies of each just for today. Right now I was working on a total of six costumes. I usually stuck to some of the most common choices but tried to change it up a bit every year.

I spent the next few hours working on the costumes. At some point I took a short break to set out food trays filled with the Halloween inspired treats and recipes. Customers loved them, and as expected Ami and Akemi ate a majority of them alone, but I made plenty. Soon after I finished the final costume and set half on display with their pamphlets along with a few of the decorations.

Seeing the customers faces light up at them always made me happy. I loved it when people admired my work enough to do the same. Moments like those made it easy to pretend that i had a normal life.

* * *

Around 5pm things winded down which is when we prepared to close. Sunday was our shortest day. The other girls ducked out early, claiming they had homework to do which I knew was a lie. Mrs. Kenta and I worked in silence, occasionally snacking on the leftover treats from today. They were small cake balls decorated to look like both human and monster eyes.

"Kukiko?" I paused in what I was doing and turned. "I'm going to go over our inventory. Can you handle things for the next hour?"

"Sure thing." I replied.

She patted me on the shoulder and went to the back. I continued about my business fixing up shelves and putting things back where they belonged. I was so engrossed in my work I barely heard the door open and someone walk in. I didn't even notice them until I rounded a corner and saw them looking at one of the displays. Their back was to me but I could tell it was a man. He was observing one of the three costumes I made. One was a steampunk inspired dress, the second was a fairy costume for children. The third, that he was so focused on, was a black masquerade dress with a red corset and silver and red designs along the skirt. Each costume had their own accessories, including masks. Silently the man lifted the mask from the mannequin sporting the masqurade dress. He studied it a bit before walking away from it, the mask still in his hand.

"Excuse me sir, please don't remove things from the displays."

He paused and turned back at me.

My breath instantly caught in my throat. He wore a loose grey shirt with an odd design on it with a black jacket and harem pants. He had a undercut, part of it was tied up in a short ponytail. He had several piercings in both ears, including anchors next to his eye and one in his lip. He was also wearing a pair of sunglasses hiding his eyes from view. I immediately got an uneasy feeling. He didn't say a word to me, just continued to stare at me.

"S-sorry sir, but you have to put that back on the display."

He still said nothing, just continued to stare at me. He didn't scream danger, but something about him made me nervous nonetheless. The man started walking towards me until his face was barely a few inches from mine. My breath caught in my throat as he looked me over...

* * *

 **Welp that's it for now. What did you guys think? Not sure when I'll update again but the next chapter is already underway and will hopefully be up within the next few weeks. Review if you like**


	2. Interesting

**I never expected that so many people would enjoy the first chapter quite this much! Thanks so much for everyone who reviewed and added this to their favorites! Sorry I disappeared for two years without an update, too many personal things got in the way, but I'm back!**

 **I definitely wanted to bring this back before Halloween, especially now that I've finished Tokyo Ghoul. Hopefully I can update at least once a week -once a month again. I realized I never set this during a specific time in the plot, so it will take place just before the end of Tokyo Ghoul and during the three years before Re: starts.**

 **Warning: Includes mention of self harm, abuse, and possibly suicide in later chapters.**

 **I don't own Tokyo Ghoul**

* * *

"Interesting"

"I-i'm sorry?"

"Your skin... it's interesting."

My face mask, I forgot it. He was referring to my face. I've never had anyone refer to my skin as interesting, at least not in a good way. The uneasy feeling decreased as he leaned away from me, causing me to let out the breath I hadn't realized that I was holding. Before I could take in another, a gentle hand grasped mine, quickly replaced by a piece of material sliding into my palm. Glancing down I looked at the mask he placed back into my hand.

"It's nicely made."

"W-what?" I squeaked out with a jump.

"The mask, It's nicely made. Where did you get it?"

Looking back down at my hand I studied the mask. It was a half mask that was mostly black, with red, and bits of silver throughout it. The overall shape was that of a bat, the edges of wings stretched to frame the sides of chin and extended two inches about the forehead. The majority of the mask and 'wings' was a simple but intricate swirled pattern in a blood red color. Above the holes where the eyes rested there were streaks of red like eye shadow, with small red silver flecks mixed in. Most of the detailed were embroidered and sewn into it. Stretching from the under the eyes to the tips of the wings there were short, thin chains in a swooping pattern. Every few links there a small, teardrop shaped gem alternating in red and silver. Lasting behind the holes for the eyes, there was a black fabric that would hide the wearers eyes from others, but they would still be able to see with little to no problem. You had to admit it was one of your favorites you've ever made.

"I um... I made it. I made all the costumes here. I do all the displays and DIY related things. " I said after studying the mask for a bit. Probably rambling a bit. What can I say? I tend to ramble and stutter when I get nervous.

"I see... do you make them often?"

"Not really n-no... Usually only around this time of year and Christmas. This is usually our busiest time of the year. A-and the occasional fancy party or charity that some come in for. I do get the occasional odd requests here and there for commissions. I-it's a nice hobby, I suppose. W-would you be interested in one?"

Before he could answer, Akemi bursts back into the shop.

"Kukiko, are you still-" she started to call out, before stopping in her tracks at the sight of the stranger in the shop.

"Akemi-san, I was just helping a customer before we closed for the day."

Based on the way she was staring I doubt she even heard what I said. She looked him over once, twice, then a third time. You could practically see the gears turning in her head. After a moment she finally put on her best, fake smile she could muster before sauntering over. It took a lot of willpower not to roll my eyes and groan, she did this with every customer she immediately found attractive. I could never understand her taste in men before, but with him I could see it. She had a thing for he mysterious looking ones, and so far he seemed to meet the bar she set. However I didn't have much time to put any thought into it. The second she made it over to the two of us, she promptly pushed me out of the way before addressing him.

"I see. So what brought you to our lovely shop?" she said batting her eyelashes at him. He seemed to be completely unfazed by her shoving me. At least I think he was unfazed, it was hard to tell with the glasses on.

"I wanted to see if you had a certain type of material I need for a project. Unfortunately it seems like you don't carry what I need though."

"If there's something you need we can order it for you! That's our specialty after all!" she exclaimed with a bit too much enthusiasm. "Why don't you come and fill out an order form with me? Kukiko, be a dear and close up the shop would you?"

She barely spared me a second glance, or him a second to respond, before grabbing his arm and dragging him to our front counter. Her openly flirting was as amusing to watch as were her pour attempts to be a model employee. At least the part about ordering materials for him wasn't a lie. The shop did specialize at ordering special materials for customers. Since we could order materials in bulk we often took requests, and charged less then most places. Even if they didn't need the item in bulk, we could sell them the amount they needed and put the rest in the shop while offering a special type of sale.

While she handled him, I set about sweeping and mopping the the floor. Thankfully the store never really got that disorganized until the holidays got closer, and it was still the two months before Halloween. Granted the store was fairly large, but I moved with a quick pace. Besides, with tomorrow being Monday we would open later then normal and close earlier. Whatever I didn't do today I had plenty of time to do tomorrow. The best part was everyone, even Akemi, had to be here bright and early at 8am to help clean and handle incoming deliveries, before we opened at noon. For now I was only going to do the front half around the registers and fabric counter. Within 30 minutes or so I was mostly done and just had to do the area around the registers and the door.

As I got close I saw Akemi starting to walk him to the door. I focused on my task tuning them out, well mostly her as she chatted away, as I moved to get behind the counter. It wasn't long before I started to feel an uneasy feeling come over me again. Glancing up for a moment My eyes immediately went to the couple at the door. Once I did I was frozen in place almost instantly, as the man was looking right at me. I could feel my breath get caught in my throat as we stared at each other, myself unmoving. After a minute I finally tore my gaze away and continued my work. Even though I wasn't looking at him I could feel his gaze boring into my back, causing my face to heat up. Akemi either didn't notice or was ignoring the whole exchange as she continued to chat away.

Finally the uneasy started to fade away when I heard the door open and close. I let out a long sigh when I noticed he was finally gone. A bit too soon considering Akemi was still here.

"Kukiko, will you come with me for a bit?"

Biting the inside of my cheek I hesitantly left the counter to follow her. I nearly forgot about leaving her to handle the customers earlier, that's probably the only reason she came back to the shop today. Sometimes I hated speaking back to others, it just got me into more trouble that I didn't need. She led me to one of the shelves near the front. The shelf contained multiple jars of glitter all arranged neatly. Without warning she stuck her arm out along the top shelf and swept all the jars into the ground. Several of them broke open on impact, quickly sticking to both of our shoes and all over the floor. Then she did the same with the second shelf, adding to the already large mess.

"I'm going to need you to clean all this up before you go." she said with a smirk on her face "Make sure you log all the damaged jars into inventory before you go too." To add insult to injury, she made sure to purposely walk through the pile, and leave a trail of glittery footsteps leading to the door. The door slammed behind her as she left.

Staring down at the large pile of glitter I slowly started to feel my shoulders to sag. I should have known she'd do something like this. Especially since everyone else knew I would be the one closing up today, I had no choice but to clean it up. Begrudgingly I went to get the broom and a large dustpan, leaving a trail of glittery footprints behind me. This was going to take a while for me to clean. It was times like this I wish we had cameras in the shop.

After spending nearly 45 minutes of nothing but cleaning up the broken jars, and counting them I made my way to the back to log everything into our loss inventory. Several possible excuses already began going through my mind on how to explain what happened to the jars. None of them were good, and I knew Mrs. Kenta wouldn't so easily believe that I tripped and fell. After spending an extra twenty minutes logging everything I finally made it out of the shop. The door locked, and the mess cleaned to the best of my ability.

* * *

Cold air chilled me to as I turned the corner to my neighborhood. As peaceful as it seemed living in the 20th ward, I dreaded many things about it. I was late getting home from work and would be in trouble, a fresh beating was all that awaited me. However, even knowing what awaited me my mind was elsewhere. My mind was oddly drifting to the stranger that had come in tonight. I wasn't sure why he made me as nervous as he did. He seemed fairly polite, yet I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling away. I wasn't sure what it was but... something about him screamed dangerous. And for some reason unknown to me I was strangely drawn to it, yet afraid at the same time. I quickened my pace as I was lost in my thoughts until I finally made it to the door.

It was a simple two story house, the yard was nicely tripped and arranged. All the lights on the lower floor were on, only one light was turned on top floor. That light was to my brother's room. It looked as if nothing was amiss, a simple little home in a quite little neighborhood... but I knew better. Inserting my key into the lock I took a deep breath before opening the door and quickly shutting it. Letting my forehead rest against the wood for a moment I tried to still my heart as I prepared to face what awaited me. I didn't have to wait long, because as soon as I turned around I was met with a fist to my face.

* * *

The door quietly shut behind me as I entered the shop the next morning. It was 8AM and I was still a bit groggy, the pain stood out though making my body ache. Needless to say my father was less then pleased at me coming home nearly two hours later then I was supposed to. Akemi's little stunt made me late to fix dinner for everyone and only resulted in a beating. After finally cooking for everyone I was still berated at the dinner table by my mother. It didn't end there, as my brother go a few hits in before I went to bed.

I didn't have much time this morning to cover everything up but I made due. However a large bruise stood out on my cheek and my black eye now had a matching twin. Makeup could only do so much, but at least my bangs could cover my eyes with a bit of styling. As for my cheek I had my mask, and a large bandage to cover most of it up. The real trick was acting like I wasn't in pain. I would still have to explain them to Mrs. Kenta, since I knew she would ask. It was the last thing I wanted to do, along with endure with the teasing that would come with Akemi and Ami's teasing.

Mrs. Kenta was already here, thankfully alone I might add. She was in her own personal office and called out a good morning to me when I passed. I mumbled out a good morning as I hurriedly went past the door to my own work area. So far I had gone the morning without incident, I didn't want to have to answer her questions yet. After heading to the bathroom to double check everything I quickly set to work. I began with the floor, which still had remnants of glitter on it, going over that spot again before doing the rest of the floor. I was so engrossed in my work I didn't even notice the girls were here. Their usual jabs at me were ignored as I worked. After that I made my way to the fabric.

I cleaned the counter and reset the ticket machine, then measured out the used bolts from the previous day to see if they could go back on the shelf or be taken off as small batches. The small batches were measured out and given a reduced price. After that the bolts that were left were placed back onto the shelves. The first two hours continued on like this, of cleaning and rearranging things on the shelf. The first hour went by fast as I quickly got into my usual routine. I was finishing up cleaning the glass windows when Mrs. Kenta called us up to the front. As I got there I noticed three people standing on either side of her. I didn't recognize any of them, but they were wearing our standard uniform that consisted of a red shirt, black pants and a white apron with the store's name on the front. Akemi and Ami were slower to come to the front of the store, which gave the new trio plenty of time to stare at what little exposed skin I had. Granted I knew I looked strange with my bangs in my face and a large face mask covering my mouth, but I was used to the stares. When the girls finally got her Mrs. Kenta cleared her throat to begin.

"Now then, you girls know the next few months will be our busy season. Since the renovations to the shop after last years rush the store had been expanded to more than three times it's size. We had to drastically change the store's hours on Mondays to accommodate paperwork and cleaning alone. So I brought on three new employees. I hope everyone will welcome them."

That explained the uniforms at least. I supposed I felt slightly relieved to have more help around. Since the others basically did nothing getting work done by myself was always difficult, and barely manageable. Even with all four of us it was still a lot to take on. Two of the new hires were male and the third was female. The girl was a little taller then average, she had long dark hair and grey eyes. Instead of a basic plain red shirt it was a bit more, dressy. Her shirt was off the shoulders and dipped a little too low in the front. Thankfully her apron came up pretty high on her chest so most of her cleavage was covered. Combined with her makeup, made up nails, and her expensive looking shoes, overall she looked like she was ready for a trip to the mall rather then going to work.

One of the guys looked very average. He had brown eyes and short brown hair that was a bit messy and was shorter then then then other two by a few inches. He wasn't very noticeable, other then the large pair of glasses on his face that he had to push back onto his nose several times. He seemed kind of bookish and quite. Besides his usual uniform he was wearing a few pins on his apron. They looked like characters from an anime, but you couldn't be sure. He was fidgeting a quite a bit, probably more then normal. He seemed really nervous to be here. I didn't however miss the occasional glace he was sneaking Ami's way, and the look of disgust she was giving him.

The third guy had shoulder length black hair with striking blue eyes and a few piercings. There were two under his lip, one in his nose and a couple in each ear. The most striking thing about him was the large tattoo on his neck. It was a geometric and very intricate pattern. It looked as if it extending down to his collarbone, but you couldn't tell with the shirt. It was also long sleeved so I couldn't tell if he had more or not. Now that I was really looking at him I noticed that he wasn't wearing the apron, just the shirt and pants. He was wearing combat boots that his pants were tucked into. Just about everything about him screamed intimidating. He was definitely the tallest of all of them, possibly six and a half feet? I couldn't tell but he was tall. Only the new girl came close to his height. Surprisingly I started to think of the stranger from yesterday. There were still differences but I couldn't help but see similarities. Just like the stranger from yesterday I got that same uneasy feeling... I couldn't explain it but he gave me a bad feeling.

"Now girls, this young lady is Kameko, I know that two of you know her from school and are friends." Mrs. Kenta began. Oh this would just be my luck, another one to mess with me at work. "However just because you all are friends doesn't mean you can all goof off. I expect you all to actually work. Akemi you can show her the ropes, she'll be working the registers."

The girl, Kameko went to stand between Akemi and Ami the three of them giggling with each other. This was definitely not going to be good for me.

"Kouta here," she said gesturing to the shorter of the two men, "will be working with Ami today. I want you to show how to run the fabric counter and arranging the bolts."

Kouta eagerly went to stand next to Ami who gave out a loud groan while the other girls snickered at her apparent misfortune. It was quickly silenced with a look from Mrs. Kenta.

"Lastly Omaro here will be training with you, Kukiko. I know how time consuming making those costumes and pamphlets can be along with the other displays. So he's going to help you in the back. I hear he's quite skilled with a sewing machine already so you won't have to help him too much." she said cheerfully. My heart immediately dropped the thought of working with him.

* * *

 **Raise your hand if you ever tried cleaning up multiple jars of glitter. You know her pain. Thanks for everyone who waited on me. I promise the next chapter will be up VERY soon, since it's mostly done. It was twice as long as this chapter so I cut some of it and added it to this one.**

 **10/25/2018**


	3. Nervous

**Happy Holidays! I wanted to get this up before Halloween but fate had other plans. With any luck, the next chapter will be finished in two weeks or so. Future chapters may be shorter but I'm going to try keeping the word count consistent.**

 **Warning: Includes mention of self harm, abuse, and possibly suicide in later chapters.**

 **I don't own Tokyo Ghoul**

* * *

Omaro, apparently, looked over at me before coming to stand next to me silently. I didn't know what to say either, so I kept quite for now. Keeping my head down I stared at my feet, though I swear I could feel him watching me. Clapping her hands to get our attention again we all looked towards the front.

" Now I know this is sudden to spring three new employees onto you all but I'm sure this will work out fine. I want each of you to make our new employees feel welcome, as you will be spending all day with he person you were assigned to." She paused to throw another look at Ami, who opened her mouth to complain before quickly shutting it. "The store opens in three hours and we have at least thirty minutes before the delivery truck comes. As soon as it does I want everyone to help with unloading it into the stock room, then restocking the floor. With all of us we should have that done in no time. Afterwards if there's any time left I want it spent training our new hires. Any questions?"

"Can we please change who we train?" Ami raised her hand and whined. "I want to train to Omaro, let Kukiko have Kouta."

"No, you may not. I choose these arrangements for a reason. Besides you can't very well teach Omaro how to do inventory and set up displays if you've never done them yourself now can you? Now since it's the start of the week, it will be slow, regardless of when we open. Continue to clean around the store as you train. Time to get a move on everyone! I'll call when when the truck gets here. "

With that everyone broke apart with their partner. Omaro and I stood silently for another moment before I mumbled a quick follow me and hurried to the back. It wasn't until I heard his footsteps that I was even sure he had heard me. I spent the little time we had before the truck arrived to show him around the room that I spent most of my time in. Quickly I went over what he was expected to do, including inventory and ordering new products. My voice stuttering all the while as my nervousness showed. He was silent and gave nothing except the occasional nod from time to time. After that I showed him to the small kitchen that served as a break room. It was complete with two refrigerators, a pantry, and even a couple of small stove and oven combos. There was only three small square tables that could each seat four people. After taking everything about the room in he finally spoke.

"This isn't a typical break room for a craft store. Why is there a oven in here?" he asked. I was almost taken aback at his voice. It was soft, and not at all how I expected him to sound.

"W-well, we also make treats and snacks for the customers. You heard how Mrs. Kenta said we nearly tippled in size right?" I asked. He only nodded in response. "T-the surround stores were either changing locations or going out of business. So she started to buy the surrounding shops until she had the whole lot. One was a small bakery that had to move to accommodate new machines and more customers. Mrs. Kenta got a license to sell food and kept one of their smaller ovens."

"What other shops used to be here?"

"U-um, a movie store that went out of business, an antique store and tattoo shop that moved, and another small takeout restaurant. I think she just bought them out. "

"You've must have been here for a while then."

"Yes, since I graduated high school so about three years now."

"Do you like it here? I'm surprised only a few of you can manage a place as big as this."

I had to pause and think on that one. True, I've been here for a while and despite the awkward stares and verbal abuse from the other girls... it was a good place to work.

"I do like it. I can't imagine working anywhere else. We normally aren't this short staffed, but we manage. Out last employee quit a couple months ago. They got their dream job working in a bookstore or something."

Whatever he tried to say next was drowned out by Mrs. Kenta calling out for us. The truck had arrived and it was time to unload it. Talking to Omaro was easier then I thought it would be, despite the occasional weird glance he would give me now and then. I hardly noticed it that at some point I had stopped stuttering around him.

With the six of us unloading and Mrs. Kenta keeping track of the things coming in for inventory, we were done in about an hour and a half. The remaining time was spent going over the our goals for the day and setting the work schedule. The girls had classes in the mornings Tuesday through Friday, while Kenko had classes on Wednesday and Friday morning that extended into the afternoon. Omaro, like me, didn't go to college and would be available most of the week, but he did have a second job he helped out at on Friday and Saturday afternoon. As for me, I worked Monday through Wednesday morning and closed Thursday and Sunday afternoons. Friday and Saturday were my two days off. I was hoping that with the new employees things would run smoother. Or at least with the guys they would.

The doors opened at noon as usual, though we didn't get a steady flow of customers until around two. In the meantime, Omaro and I were busy making lightly baked apple slices drizzled with honey and cinnamon. A small how to guide was set out next to the large plate. Of course the girls immediately tried to get to them first, but one look from him sent them on their way without a bite. I guess he could be intimidating when he wanted to be. After setting those out, he and I quickly got to work planning and going over the next six costumes for our display. We agreed to spend the next few days working on three costumes: two character from a popular video game and an anime, and the last a small animal sized oni costume.

The two of us spent hours planning and measuring out the pieces, deciding on colors and accessories. After getting the pieces successfully cut and pinned to the mannequins, we took a small break to enjoy some of the baked apples. After that I begun to show him our inventory system and how to put in requests. Monday was not only our delivery day, but it was also the day we went over sales. I took no time showing him which companies we ordered from and how to place custom orders. We usually didn't get too many custom orders, maybe only ten or so every other week. But because of the upcoming season, we had twice the amount of orders. As soon as they were organized we set them to the side to be placed later. Omaro was a very attentive worker and did just about all the tasks without hesitation. I could tell this was more then he expected to do, but he did it without complaining.

It didn't take long to get him caught up to speed on how things worked in the back, so I decided to take him up front to show him where things were in the store. As usual I ignore the other girl's jabs and insults at me, which only caused him to raise an eyebrow in question but I waved it off. The girls were busy standing around chatting while there weren't any customers. Kenko was busy restocking the shelves by himself, Ami not even interested in helping him. Letting out a sigh I decided to help out, which caused Omaro to help out. It became clear that Kenko wasn't taught anything in the hours he was supposed o be with Ami, he didn't know where anything was in the store. While the girls chatted away I showed the two boys the lay of the store while we were busy stocking the shelves. After a while they got the got enough of a general idea of where things were so we could all split up.

I took a large pallet of ribbons, and other accessories to their designated place and began placing them on the shelves. As the task wore on, the pain from my injuries started to ache and make themselves more known. My pace slowed down to the point I had to stop and take a breather. I had barely taken a few breaths, when I felt someone tap on my shoulder. Unfortunately it happened to be the one that was recently nearly wrenched from it's socket. i jumped started while letting out a hiss of pain. My back nearly slammed into the shelf as I clutched at my shoulder.

"Sorry, didn't mean to frighten you. Are you alright?" that voice sounded familiar. Opening my eyes I was surprised to see the stranger from yesterday. Clearly the surprise must have been evident on my face.

"Are you ok miss?" he asked a second time.

Taking a few quick breaths, I forced my racing heart to slow down. I'd have to be careful with my shoulder in the future. "U-um yes. I'm sorry. Can I help you with something?"

"Are you sure your alright? You seem nervous."

"Yes sir, I'm fine thank you." Awkward silence hung in the air between us as his eyes roamed over my face. Looking over what little exposed skin I had showing. The urge to fidget under his gaze was growing as he watched me. I just hoped he wouldn't ask about-

"If I may ask, what's wrong with your skin?"

-that. At least he asked nicely I suppose? A quick glance down and I examined one of my hands. The skin was two different colors, one part was a light pale shade. The other shade was darker, like a foreigners. The two shades clashed and appeared on my skin in random blotches. I suppose to anyone it would sickly and just, wrong. I know it's not a common thing to see, not even in Japan.

"I-it's... a medical condition. I was born with it."

"I see. It's not very common is it?."

"N-no, it isn't..." my voice trailed off as he continued to stare at me. The urge to fidget officially took over and I couldn't help the small movements. No matter how many people asked, I wold never get used to having to explain my condition.

"Could you help me with a order?" he suddenly said.

"O-oh, sure. Please follow me." pushing myself away from the shelf I walked towards the front of the store where our order book for customers waited. After a moment I heard his near silent footsteps behind me. When we got to the counter I pulled out the book and opened to the most recent page. I expected to see an entry from the day he was here, but it was surprisingly blank. "W-was there a problem placing an order the other day? "

"No, but the girl helping me wasn't really interested in my order."

"I see... w-well our custom orders only come in bulk, but whatever you don't use you can always return in thirty days for credit to our store. Is there anything specific you would like to order?"

The next few minutes were a mix of nervous little twitches as he listed off the materials he needed. Two bolts of faux leather, a five pound box of sculpting clay, one bulk order of resin, a few different types of wood and various different types of thread and needles...This was a lot of material. After all was said and done he arranged to have the bigger items sent to his home while he picked up the smaller ones at a later date. As I was finishing up his order I felt a hand rest on top of mine, causing me to jump. I looked up, my breath hitched in my throat to see him leaning over the counter very close to me. He face mere inches away from mine.

"Those girls have been watching us for the past few minutes." It took a moment to register what he said, but when it hit I looked up and looked around the store. Akemi was watching us by one of the shelves, her two friends were also there whispering to each other. All three had scowls on their faces as they watched us. "I think they're jealous I'm talking to you."

"I... think jealous is the wrong word, sir." I replied trying to ignore the glares they directed towards me.

"Hmmm... you're right. Maybe they're afraid of you." I paused in my writing at his words. Afraid? That didn't make any sense.

"I'm sorry sir, but that doesn't make any sense."

"I think people often fear things that are different. You can't blame them though, it's just human nature." he said as he leaned away from me. Something about the way he said that seemed off. Almost detached, like he was talking about something else. I didn't have much time to dwell on it however, as he continued speaking. "How long until my order will be ready?"

I hastily explained to him it would take 2-3 weeks before His order would arrive. All I needed was a name, an address, and a phone number to contact him when his order arrived.

"I'm Uta, and you're Kukiko right?" he said while fingering the name badge on my shirt.

"Y-yes sir, if you'll excuse me now, I'll go put this order in right away."

I all but ran from him and the glaring girls and into the back room. What was with that guy? He got a little too close for comfort for me, far too close. I never met anyone that found my appearance to be the slightest bit interesting though. Maybe he was just messing with me, it wouldn't be the first time it happened. Taking a deep breath, I gathered myself before walking into Mrs. Kenta's office to turn in the order. Hopefully the rest of the day would go by without incident. However i knew after the girls saw me, it would only be wishful thinking.

* * *

 **This chapter was originally over 6,000 words but I cut it and put part of it was included with the last chapter. I admit these first few chapters will be boring, but things will pick up around chapter 5.**

 **Also someone pointed out in the last chapter that I never said what was "interesting" about her skin (I thought I described it in the first chapter I apologize), so I hope this cleared it up. For those who don't know she has vitiligo.**

 **12/24/2018**


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